I started composing this a couple of hours ago and I'm not sure why I'm posting it now but, as Pete Seeger wrote, “...because I love you, I'll give it one more try...”

I'm not bothered by people posting anonymously. If you've been paying attention, you know that I often respond to guests' requests for information in as helpful a way as I can manage. Likewise, anyone posting an interesting technique, song, link or fact—anonymously or not—is, from my point of view, a welcome addition to the forum.

Where identity becomes important is when the content is largely opinion. If, as I walk along the street, someone in a passing car flips me off and yells “You suck, asshole!”, I may not be entirely persuaded by his point of view. If, on the other hand, someone walks up to me, stops to introduce himself in a civil way and says something like “Do you know that many people, myself included, think of you as an asshole?”, I might actually want to know what he is talking about and what, if anything, I may have done to contribute to this generally negative impression of my character.

I don't expect the person in the passing car to stop that kind of behavior, although it would be nice, but neither do I ascribe any credibility to his remark. The person who introduces himself, on the other hand, becomes at some level a known entity; a person I can talk with, work through the issues and verify the veracity of his remark. After all, I may actually be an asshole and if not, he's still entitled to his opinion.

One sort of post we see from time to time is the anonymous guest posing as the author of some editorial piece from another source. It's unclear whether the guest wants to express the same opinion and just believes the well-known author has explained the position well, or whether the guest is really just yelling out the window from a passing car while flipping us off. I believe that a guest with any intellectual integrity would post using his name and either quote the original source or provide a link to the original while letting us know why we might find the editorial interesting. The guest who pretends to be posting in the author's name doesn't hurt anything, but I can't regard his post with any credibility.

People on the Internet often invent imaginary personas for themselves though I'm not entirely sure I understand why. Unless they live or work in a situation where identification would cause them some level of pain, I think the practice is juvenile. Mudcat is the only online place where I carry on conversations with people. I'm not a big communicator; there are many people I've known for years and feel close to, with whom I seldom communicate. Why would I spend valuable time talking with people I don't know and who may not be who they say they are?

The answer, for me, is music. Many people have helped me learn the music I love and I think I owe a debt to share what knowledge and experience I have gained even while trying to increase my own knowledge and ability. If Mudcat didn't provide those opportunities, I wouldn't be reading these threads just to get some opinions from people I don't know. As Clint Eastwood says in one of his “Dirty Harry” films, “Opinions are like assholes... everybody's got one.”

Where I begin to care about opinions here on Mudcat is when the opinion is posted by someone I have, in some sense, come to know. I know who they are because their names are known in addition to their pseudonyms, their pictures may be on file, they may have reputations, possibly recordings, or they may simply have been consistently here as a positive force long enough for me to regard them with some credibility. I don't regard those people as insiders, many of them haven't been using Mudcat as long as I have, they are simply people who have made enough of a personal commitment to be regarded as members of a community.

Relationships—and credibility—take time and effort. One can't expect to just swoop into new group of people, anonymously, and be given the same honor as long-time members of the community. One should, however expect consideration and respect if one first comes in offering those same accommodations.

      - Mark